Heroes of the Storm PTR Notes — August 28, 2017

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

Heroes of the Storm PTR Notes — August 28, 2017
Our next Heroes of the Storm patch has just arrived to the Public Test Realm and will be available for playtesting until September 4. During this time, we kindly request your assistance in trying out some of the new content it contains before we officially release the patch to the live version of Heroes. Just like last time, if you encounter any bugs or other issues during your PTR play sessions, please stop by the PTR Bug Report forum to let us know about your experiences.

Slay heroes in Kel’Thuzad’s name to earn in-game rewards before the event concludes on September 25, 2017!

Each quest in this four-part chain must be completed in order, and only one quest will be active at any given time.

Games played in Versus A.I., Quick Match, Unranked, and Ranked modes all count toward quest progress.

Games played during the Acolyte, Necromancer, and Lich Lord quests must be won in order to earn takedown credit.

Quests and Rewards

Ghoul: Play a game with Kel’Thuzad present on either team.

Reward: Ghoul Portrait

Acolyte: Achieve 30 takedowns in winning games.

Reward: Acolyte Portrait

Necromancer: Achieve 60 takedowns in winning games.

Rewards: Necromancer Portrait and Necromancer’s Blight Spray

The Lich Lord: Achieve 90 takedowns in winning games.

Rewards: Kel’Thuzad Portrait and Naxxramas Warcrest Banner

PTR Note: While elements of this event may be visible on the Public Test Realm, any progress or rewards earned during PTR testing will not transfer to the live version of the game when this patch is officially released next week.

Ranked Play

2017 Ranked Season 3

Once today’s patch arrives to the live version of Heroes of the Storm, 2017 Ranked Season 2 will officially come to a close, and Season 3 will begin!

League standings will be reset and all players will need to play through 10 Placement Matches in order to receive their new starting ranks in Hero and Team Leagues for 2017 Season 3.

The matchmaking system’s certainty level in all players’ matchmaking ratings will once again be loosened in order to make it a little easier to move up and down the rankings during initial matches this season.

Placement Matches

Players with high matchmaking ratings (MMR) can now place as high as 1,000 points into Master League.

Grandmaster League

Promotions into Grandmaster League will now occur 2 weeks after a new Ranked Season begins.

New Hero: Kel'Thuzad

Kel'Thuzad has faithfully served the Lich King both in life and after death. Reanimated as the Archlich of the Scourge and given domain of the Dread Necropolis, Naxxramas, Kel’Thuzad remains Arthas’s most trusted advisor and master of the cold dark.

Trait

Master of the Cold Dark

Quest: Gain 1 Blight every time a Hero is Rooted by Frost Nova or hit by Chains of Kel'Thuzad.

Reward: After gaining 15 Blight, the cooldown of all Basic Abilities is reduced by 2 seconds.

Reward: After gaining 30 Blight, gain 75% Spell Power.

Basic Abilities

Death and Decay (Q)

After 0.5 seconds, launch an orb that explodes upon hitting an enemy, dealing damage to enemies in the area. The explosion leaves behind a pool of decay that lasts 2 seconds, dealing damage every 0.5 seconds to enemies.

Frost Nova (W)

Create a nova that explodes after 1 second, dealing damage to enemies inside and Slowing them by 35% for 2.5 seconds. Enemies in the center are Rooted for 1 second.

Chains of Kel'Thuzad (E)

Launch a chain, dealing damage to the first enemy Hero or Structure hit. For 4 seconds after hitting an enemy, Chains can be reactivated to launch to an additional enemy, pulling both enemies together and Stunning them for 0.5 seconds.

Heroic Abilities

Frost Blast (R)

Launch a meteor of ice at an enemy Hero. Upon impact, the meteor deals damage to its target and damages enemies in the area. All enemies hit by Frozen Tomb are Rooted for 1.5 seconds.

Shadow Fissure (R)

Create a fissure anywhere on the Battleground that explodes after 1.5 seconds, dealing *damage to enemies in its area.

ArtGeneral

Heroes of the Storm has received new loading screen art to celebrate Kel’Thuzad’s arrival to the Nexus.

Heroes, Abilities, and Talents

Talent: Cleanse and similar Talents have received updated effects in order to increase visual clarity.

Nazeebo: The Jar and Spiders spawned by Corpse Spiders have received updated effects in order to increase visual clarity.

Alarak: The size of the indicator that appears above Rite of Rak'shir’s target has been reduced.

The following Heroes have received updated art to coincide with Talent changes:

Jaina

Leoric

Lt. Morales

Quest System Updates

Visual effects that appear around a Hero upon completing a Talent or Ability Quest have been updated to make them more visually apparent.

The following Heroes have updated art to coincide with quest system updates:

Chromie

Jaina

User InterfaceQuest System Updates

A quest column has been added to the Talents tab on the in-game Score Screen.

Baseline quests, such as Kel’Thuzad’s Master of the Cold Dark or Nazeebo’s Voodoo Ritual, will appear in this column and quest progress will be visible to all players in the match.

Notifications will now appear in the in-game Event Log (AKA Kill Feed) whenever a player completes a quest or reaches an important quest milestone.

Quest resets will now appear next to the portrait of the slain enemy in the Event Log.

Ex: Flamestrike’s icon art will appear next to Kael’thas’ portrait in the Event Log if he is killed prior to completing the Convection quest.

Upon completing a quest, a personal notification will now display for the player at the top center of the screen stating the name of the completed quest.

BattlegroundsRanked Battleground Rotation Update

Added to Rotation

Infernal Shrines

Tomb of the Spider Queen

Removed from Rotation

Towers of Doom

Warhead Junction

Garden of Terror

The full Ranked Battleground Rotation is now as follows:

Battlefield of Eternity

Blackheart's Bay

Braxis Holdout

Cursed Hollow

Dragon Shire

Infernal Shrines

Sky Temple

Tomb of the Spider Queen

As a reminder, Hanamura has been temporarily removed from all play modes except Custom Games in order to undergo changes. As a result, the new rotation will feature 8 Battlegrounds, rather than 9.

Heroes hit by Displacement Grenade have their damage reduced by 30% for 4 seconds.

Second Opinion (W)

Moved from Level 16

New Functionality:

If Displacement Grenade hits 2 or more Heroes, its cooldown is reduced to 1 second.

Level 16

(New) Extended Care (Q)

Increases the range of Healing Beam by 40%.

(New) First Responder (Q)

If you have more than 70 energy, your Healing Beam heals for 25% more.

Shield Sequencer (W)

New Functionality:

Safeguard gains an additional charge.

Level 20

Transfusion (R)

Removed

Medbay (R)

Removed

Caduceus Reactor 2.0 (Trait)

New Functionality:

Increases the healing of Caduceus Reactor from 2% to 6%.

Storm Shield

Removed

(New) Hyperactivity (R)

Reduces the cooldown of Stim Drone from 90 seconds to 45 seconds and increases the movement speed bonus from 25 to 50%.

(New) Safe Zone (R)

Heroes are Protected from damage for 2 seconds after unloading from Medivac Dropship.

(New) Reinforcements (Active)

Reduces the cooldown of Medivac Dropship from 60 to 30 seconds.

Activate to call down a Medivac at your Hall of Storms that only allies can enter. Activate again to order the Dropship to travel to the original cast location and unload its cargo. 30 second cooldown. Shares a cooldown with Medivac Dropship.

Warrior

LeoricStats

Basic Attack Damage reduced from 150 to 105

New functionality – Wrath of the Bone King

Leoric's first two Basic Attacks cleave for 100% damage. His third Basic Attack deals 100% additional damage to his main target

Abilities

Skeletal Swing (Q)

No longer deals bonus damage to non-Heroic targets

Cooldown increased from 8 to 14 seconds

Mana Cost increased from 50 to 80

Damage increased from 125 to 150

Additional Functionality:

If Skeletal Swing hits a Hero, refund 50% of the Cooldown and Mana Cost

Drain Hope (W)

Lowered damage and healing from 25% to 20% of the target’s maximum Health

Drain Essence (W)

Lowered healing from 12.5% to 10% of target’s maximum Health

Lowered cooldown from 11 to 9 seconds

Entomb (R)

Cooldown increased from 50 to 75 seconds

Mana cost increased from 75 to 90

March of the Black King (R)

Cooldown reduced from 80 to 50 seconds

Mana cost reduced from 100 to 75

Damage increased from 183 to 250

Heal increased from 7% to 12%

Talents

Level 1

Mana Thirst (Q)

Removed

Block (Passive)

Removed

Reanimation (Trait)

Removed

Fealty Unto Death (Passive)

Moved from Level 4

Consume Vitality (Q)

Moved from Level 16

New Functionality:

Lowers the Cooldown of Skeletal Swing by 2 seconds

Heroes hit by Skeletal Swing heal Leoric for 4% of his maximum health

No longer adds any additional effect while in Undying form

Ossein Renewal (Active)

​Moved from Level 7

New Functionality:

Activate to heal Leoric for 30% of his maximum Health over 5 seconds. Regeneration Globes lower the Cooldown of this ability by 20 seconds. 120 second cooldown.

Level 4

Ghastly Reach (Q)

Moved from Level 7

Paralyzing Rage (Q)

Moved from Level 7

(New) Kneel, Peasants! (Q)

Increase the damage of Skeletal Swing to Minions and Mercenaries by 75%

Drain Hope’s healing is increased from 20% to 25% of the target’s maximum Health

Added Functionality:

If Drain Hope lasts the full duration, immediately heal for an additional 5% of your max health

Level 13

Burning Rage (Passive)

Removed

Spell Shield (Active)

Removed

Unyielding Despair (W)

Moved from Level 16

Cooldown reduction per second Drain Hope is active decreased from 1 to .5 seconds

Added Functionality:

If you complete a full duration Drain Hope, lower its Cooldown by an additional 3 seconds

Hardened Bones (W)

​Moved from Level 4

New Functionality:

Leoric gains 20 Armor while Drain Hope is active. If Drain Hope lasts the full duration, the Armor remains for 3 seconds

(New) Ominous Wraith (E)

Wraith Walk lasts 100% longer and lowers the damage of all enemy Heroes passed through by 50% for 4 seconds

Level 16

Renewed Swing (Q)

Removed

Imposing Presence (Active)

Removed

Royal Focus (E)

Moved from Level 4

New Functionality:

Increase the damage of your next Skeletal Swing by 50% after using Wraith Walk. Every enemy Hero hit with Skeletal Swing lowers the Cooldown of Wraith Walk by 7 seconds

Crushing Hope (W)

Moved from Level 13

Bonus damage dealt by a full duration Drain Hope increased from 10 to 15% of target’s maximum Health

(New) Mithril Mace (Passive)

Gain 20% Attack Speed

!Quest – Kill Minions and Heroes

For every 10 Minions or 1 Hero kill, increase your Attack Speed by an additional 3%, up to a maximum bonus of 30%

Level 20

Hardened Shield (Active)

Removed

Buried Alive (R)

Added Functionality:

Enemies inside the Entomb are silenced. The duration of Entomb is lowered from 4 to 3 seconds

Death March (R)

New Functionality:

The attached Drain Hopes are now gain all talent bonuses

Spectral Leech (Passive)

Leoric’s Basic Attacks deal an additional 2.5% of the targets max HP and heals Leoric for twice that amount

(New) Burning Despair (Passive)

Deal 40 damage in an area around yourself. Double the damage and area of effect while Drain Hope is active.

(New) Shroud of the Dead King (Active)

Activate to become Protected for 3 seconds. 75 second cooldown.

CollectionNew Bundles – The following new Bundles and Skin Packs are available for a limited time!

Court of the Archlich Bundle

Kel’Thuzad Heroic Bundle

Star Lich Kel’Thuzad Skin Pack

Purple Rage Bundle

New Skins

Kel’Thuzad

Archlich Kel’Thuzad

Blightlord Kel’Thuzad

Northrend Kel’Thuzad

Scourge Kel’Thuzad

Star Lich Kel’Thuzad

Eternal Star Lich Kel’Thuzad

Frost Star Lich Kel’Thuzad

Hunter Star Lich Kel’Thuzad

Neutron Star Lich Kel’Thuzad

Jaina

Dreadlord Jaina

Abyssal Dreadlord Jaina

Blighted Dreadlord Jaina

Saronite Dreadlord Jaina

Unholy Dreadlord Jaina

Theramore Jaina

Citrine Theramore Jaina

Emerald Theramore Jaina

Midnight Theramore Jaina

Ruby Theramore Jaina

Theramore Sorceress Jaina

Sonya

Death Knight Sonya

Blighted Death Knight Sonya

Unholy Death Knight Sonya

Black Knight Sonya

Naxxramas Knight Sonya

Deathbringer Sonya

Abyssal Deathbringer Sonya

Plagued Deathbringer Sonya

Sanguine Deathbringer Sonya

Ymirjar Deathbringer Sonya

Zagara

Crypt Queen Zagara

Abyssal Crypt Queen Zagara

Blighted Crypt Queen Zagara

Saronite Crypt Queen Zagara

Sillithus Crypt Queen Zagara

Unholy Crypt Queen Zagara

Alarak

Amethyst Highlord Alarak

Gul’dan

Wretched Shadow Council Gul'dan

Kerrigan

Fighting Cheerleader Kerrigan

Heartbreaker Cheerleader Kerrigan

Li-Ming

Sapphire Volleyball Li-Ming

Malfurion

Exiled Druid of the Flame Malfurion

Medivh

Magus Medivh the Green

Raynor

Amphibious Commander Raynor

Probius

Terran Probius Red One

Terran Probius X1

Samuro

Genius Monkey King Samuro

Golden Monkey King Samuro

Midnight Monkey King Samuro

Tyrande

Virtuous Blood Elf Tyrande

Valla

Lavender Deputy Valla

Zul’jin

Coral Warbringer Zul'jin

Desert Warbringer Zul'jin

Mounts

The following Mounts have been awarded to players who reached Platinum in Hero League or Bronze in Team League during 2017 Ranked Season 2:

Earthbreaker Grizzly

Dreambreaker Grizzly

Netherbreaker Grizzly

The following Mounts have been awarded to players who reached Master or higher in Hero League or Team League during 2017 Ranked Season 2:

Epic Earthbreaker Grizzly

Epic Dreambreaker Grizzly

Epic Netherbreaker Grizzly

Bug FixesGeneral

Fixed a number of typo and tooltip errors across several aspects of the game.

Battlegrounds

Boss: Captured Bosses will now correctly use their area of effect Abilities when attacking down a lane.

Haunted Mines: Fixed an issue that could cause Heroes to become Invulnerable for a fraction of a second while entering or exiting the Mines.

Try Mode: Sentinel will now correctly gain bonus damage after completing the Ranger Talent’s quest using the Complete Quests button.

Heroes, Abilities, and Talents

Stasis: Fixed an issue in which cooldowns for self-cast Stasis effects, such as Ice Block, or Chromie’s Time Out, would not count down until respawn if the Hero was killed immediately after that Stasis effect concluded.

Arthas: After learning the Shattered Armor Talent, Heroes rooted by Frost Presence’s quest reward will now correctly have their Armor reduced.

Azmodan: Manually clicking the All Shall Burn Ability will no longer cause a framerate drop.

Chen: Will no longer gain multiple Freshest Ingredient stacks when collecting a single Regeneration Globe if multiple allied Heroes are nearby.

Chen: Medivh’s Ley Line Seal can no longer cause Chen and his Storm, Earth, Fire Spirits to exist at the same time.

Cho: Rune Bomb’s area of effect indicator will no longer visually shrink if Cho’gall was affected by the Shrink Ray Talent while casting Rune Bomb.

D.Va: Fixed an issue that could cause D.Va to become unresponsive when entering the Dragon Knight or Garden Terror after using Lt. Morales’ Medivac.

I didn't think it was possible but they truly pulled it off, they made Morales from bad to utterly useless. With number tweaking her medivac might see play in ranked, but as a whole she's god awful.

Jaina changes are great. Her AA isn't completely useless now if you take the talent and it does significant dmg woven into your combo. She also now has access to both an iceblock and blink by 20.

K'T is insane. His combo is super easy to pull off especially with the spike talent and building either D&D or frost nova is viable though frost gives you ridiculous amounts of cc. With a completed quest you can burst down tanks from 100-1, he's definitely getting some numbers tweaked before release.

Leoric's sustain finally got some love that isn't dependent on his W. He feels much better.

Chromie just got nerfed for no reason as her overall dmg compared to before is going to be low even at 20 and now you get severely punished for missing a Q on top of it.

"It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum... and I'm all outta ass."

I'm a British gay Muslim Pakistani American citizen, ask me how that works! (terribly)

If not worse. At least before, if you were out of mana, you'd tell your team "oom" and ether find yourself a well or head all the way back to the core.

Now that she has energy instead, Morales players can only sit and watch as their teammates die around them, and hope their energy recharges in time to save someone.

you'd have to be a pretty bad player to have to think this is a bad change.

Every other healer has limited healing , whether its hot or area based or cooldowns. its literally the same thing. and she has multiple talents that allow her to get energy back and her abilities are only cooldown based.

maybe you should Learn to play before you go saying things are bad?

if you dont like the idea of players being 'forced" to play fat ppl to be Kul tiran but you didnt bitch about how you were 'forced' to play skinny people to be elves, or 'forced' to be muscle heads to be humans , then you're just a hypocrite who hates fat ppl and need to shut up

Especially if you are squishy and your team lacks Cleanse against a Chromie that can time the combo.

Lots of people aren't fun to play against if you don't have something to counter them. Try playing a squishy against a Tracer or Illidan if your team doesn't have both CC AND burst to kill while they're CCed. Doesn't mean both of them need to be smashed with a huge nerf.

Lots of people aren't fun to play against if you don't have something to counter them. Try playing a squishy against a Tracer or Illidan if your team doesn't have both CC AND burst to kill while they're CCed. Doesn't mean both of them need to be smashed with a huge nerf.

Oh please... You can at least trade some damage into Tracer and Illidan as they need to dive you and takes them time to kill you.

Meanwhile Chromie is standing three screens away from you, safely mashing her buttons with ability to kill people with just two shots. Yes you can dive Chromie, but since her range is absurd it is harder done than said.

On top of that Cleanse is not common anymore. Only Uther, Rehgar, Brightwing and Li Li have it now. Hope I don't have to explain it further.

If getting smashed by Valeera with Cold Blood wasn't fun and had to be removed, then this should go too and I am glad it did.

Oh please... You can at least trade some damage into Tracer and Illidan as they need to dive you.

Meanwhile Chromie is standing three screens away from you, safely mashing her buttons with ability to kill people with just two shots.

Yes you can dive Chromie, but since her range is absurd it is more difficult to do than said. If getting smashed by Valeera with Cold Blood wasn't fun and had to be removed, then this should go too and I am glad it did.

We (read:devs) can't really balance on 'feels' alone. I don't like Chromie very much, but she was UP on ladder, rarely but still seen in pro games on certain maps (Towers & Tomb) but never oppressive. That's an indicator for reasonable balancing and a hero with a not too low skill floor.

On the other hand Valeera was out of whack in QM and Tracer is borderline OP on ladder with 54% WR, takes more skill to counter than to play, and sits at 81% WR in HGC NA and 60% WR on HGC Korea.